


The Shop Brat Life- Tractor

by Princesszellie



Series: The Shop Brat Life [9]
Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Carshop!Au, Teen!Chuck, mechanic!AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-02
Updated: 2014-06-02
Packaged: 2018-02-03 02:43:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1728149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Princesszellie/pseuds/Princesszellie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes Chuck's dreams do come true OR- When Dad messes up, sometimes it takes Striker Eureka to save the day....</p>
<p>A slight departure from the norm.... :) </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Part 9/? of the Shop Brat Life series of one shots based on my life as the boss's kid at a large car dealership.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Shop Brat Life- Tractor

Chuck was breezing through his pre-calc. homework. He had the music up nice and loud and he was in the zone. Only four more to go then he would be free to take Max for a nice long wa-!?

“Chuck!”

The unmanly shriek of surprise that left his mouth was a bit humiliating. He spun around in his chair, “What the hell Dad!? You just scared me!...W-why are you wet?” He looked his father up and down. Herc was soaked to the knees and dripping on his bedroom carpet, he also had a crazy look in his eye.

“You remember how you always say you want to drive a car in the yard?” Herc asked. It was quite possibly the most random thing he had ever said.

“Yeaaaah?” Chuck answered cautiously. Something was very, very wrong here.

“Well go get your keys.”

“Why? What’s wrong?” he got out of his chair still giving his dad the wary eye.

Herc hesitated, “I...ugh…I just got the lawnmower stuck in the creek…” he wouldn’t make eye contact.

Chuck’s mouth dropped open. “How did you manage that!?”

“You want to drive Striker in the yard or not?” Chuck nodded vigorously, “Then shut up and get your keys and get outside.” He stormed off and Chuck scuttled after him.

Chuck followed Dad down to the creek. Yeah he wasn’t kidding; he had basically rolled the lawn tractor down the embankment where it had come to rest on its side just above the quietly burbling water of the stream.

“Oh my god Dad! You could have died! Or been hurt…you’re not hurt right!?” He looked Herc over more carefully this time. There didn’t seem to be any blood gushing wounds on him.

“I’m fine Charlie. You go get Striker, drive her down the side yard…slowly…and back her up in line with the tractor. We’re gonna use her to pull it out, hopefully without breaking anything.” He made a shooing motion at Chuck who ran off to get Max and his car and headed to the garage for some rope.

Oh god this would be epic! Chuck flung Max into the front seat and dove into Striker. “Driving on the grass, driving on the grasssss,” he chanted to himself and he started the car and began the careful negotiation from the gravel to the Promised Land. Once he was around the fancy landscape boulders that Dad had put along the edge of the driveway to prevent such forays it was smooth sailing over perfect waves of green. The lawn was his father’s pride and joy. He spent hours and hours every week mowing and raking it and the least little disruption to it was viewed as a blasphemous war crime. It was a family joke that he loved the lawn more then he loved them, he certainly spent more time with it most weekends.

Chuck reveled in all his rule breaking, yard cursing glory. Max was leaning so far out the window he might fall out as he wiggled and barked at Herc who was waiting by the tractor. Dad looked like he was dying on the inside. Excellent. Life mission accomplished.

He took his time getting Striker in position so he could enjoy his fantasy land a bit longer. Herc banged his hand on the back fender when he was in the right spot; and Chuck killed the engine and got out of the car.

Herc got down on the ground and shimmied under Striker. He started wrapping one end of the rope around the center of the rear axle. “Um…Dad…why don’t you call Uncle Scott and have him bring the truck over?” Chuck was starting to have a bad feeling about all of this.

It was a good thing his son couldn’t see his face right now. “No. He’s at work…probably. It’s fine Charlie, we can handle this.” He crawled back out from under the car, which was a lot lower than he remembered it being. Or he was getting old. Whatever.

He scurried down the creek bank and tied the other end of the rope to the tow hitch on the front of the lawnmower. Chuck watched with mounting concern. If Mom knew this was going on….

“Hey, pay attention Charlie!” Dad snapped him out of his reverie. “The key is to go slow and steady, the torque will pull the tractor out but only if you go _slow._ ”

“I get it Dad. I’ll go nice and slow…are you sure Striker will be okay?” This was all very dubious. He was now convinced Dad must have hit his head and not known it. “Can’t we use Lucky Seven?” It was worth a shot to see if the prized sports car was up for a yard foray.

“Striker is more than fine for this. If _you’re_ not up to it I’ll do it.” Herc made a move to get in and Chuck shot like lightening into the driver’s seat. “And if you fuck up the grass so help me god…”

Chuck rolled his eyes and revved the engine just to be an asshole. He put Striker into drive and began inching her forward slowly as Dad instructed. Herc stood slightly to the side and watched as the rope connecting the two machines began to get taut and finally Striker started to get traction. There was an ominous creaking, groaning sound as the rope got tighter and the car strained to pull the tractor.

Inside Striker Chuck couldn’t hear the sound over the low growling of the engine as Striker tried to shift, but he kept her in low gear. “Come on girl, you can do it!” he encouraged, “Come on baby…I know, I know….” Boy he did not like the tone the engine just started to make. “It’s just a little lawnmower…”

Herc took an involuntary step back as the noise increased and he suddenly wondered which would snap first the rope or Striker’s axle. He got his answer in gun shot as the rope snapped and Striker shot forward released from the burden of the tractor that went sliding back down deeper into the creek.

“God damn it!” Herc cursed.

Chuck slammed the breaks out of instinct when a scary sound happened somewhere in the rear of Striker, leaving four _huge_ divots in the lawn. “Oh shit!” He was in for it now. “Dad I’m sorry…I didn’t mean too…Is Striker okay?!”

Herc said didn’t even acknowledge Chuck’s apologies and freaking out over that piece of shit car, he just stalked back off to the garage. It was time to up the ante. Charlie crawled under Striker and untied the scrap of rope and checked her over for damage. Thank god she was fine. Herc wiggled under next to him with a grunt, dragging a chain.

“Hard core.”

“Shut up Charlie,” Herc elbowed him playfully and gave him a little smile.

Once the chain was secured to both vehicles, they started the process over again. Chuck inched Striker forward again super slowly, “Okay this time for sure Striker, we can do it…”

Even with the chain taut the tractor had settled further down the embankment and Herc could see that the car was starting to strain. Striker was digging in deep, literally. Chuck could feel the moment she started to make small progress as the engine started to roar and the RPM needle hit double digits. “Oh god Striker,” he groaned the temperature needle started to creep up too. This would not be a good time for an overheat episode.

“Oh screw this,” Herc grumbled. He hoped down the bank and put his shoulder against the side of the tractor and started to shove it, mostly out of frustration.

Chuck checked his rear view mirror, “What the hell is he doing?!” he asked Max, “Dad’s gonna die! Striker don’t fuck this up!” He did _not_ want to explain to Mom how he accidentally killed Dad with a car _and_ the lawnmower at the same time.

He pushed Striker a little harder, ignoring the warning about ruining the lawn. Herc felt the mower start to budge so he braced himself against the opposite creek bank and pushed for all he was worth cursing a blue streak.

And all of a sudden the tractor shot up the bank and Herc let out a squawk. Chuck heard his Dad over the sounds of Striker’s laboring transmission and he looked up in fear. He also looked up in time to see the tractor pop over the bank and follow Striker like a duckling _and_ to see Dad go face first into the muddy creek.

He parked Striker and ran back. “Dad! Dad!”

Herc crawled up the bank, “I’m fine Charlie.” He was coated in mud. “You and Striker did great.”

Chuck smiled in relief and helped him to his feet. “Thanks. I like the whole driving on the lawn thing. Can we do it again?” It was good to remind the old man that this was all the product of his stupidity.

“Ugh. No.” Herc reached out and patted Charlie’s cheek with his disgusting creek mud covered hand, “And we are _not_ telling your Mom about this… right?”

Oh, what was this now? Some blackmail ammo? Perfection. “Of course. She’ll never know….” Chuck grinned wolfishly, reminding Herc a bit too much of Scott, even with that huge smear of mud on his cheek. “It’s our little secret Dad.”

For the moment…..

 

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah. My genius of a father did roll our large lawn tractor into the also large creek on our property. NO witnesses, I was the only one home at the time so I was his only hope. To this day he will not say how he ended up in the creek, you know on the property he has been mowing for over 20 years...but his brilliant plan was to use the 18 year old station wagon to pull it back out. Not his fancy ass NEW sports car OR waiting for Mom to come home with THE ACTUAL TRUCK. Whatever. Serenity and I pulled that Deere out of the creek....after the mishaps described above. It was epic. Plus I got to drive all over the yard.....which had long been a fantasy of mine and Serenity's. I long for an excuse to do it again....


End file.
